I am a fan although still relatively new to Studio Ghibli. Of those I have seen, most have been very good, some entirely great (Laputa may be my favourite so far). I had not heard of this one, which was a good thing, I was taken by surprise in a very positive way. I won't go into detail but the story follows Wolf - a genius and resourceful thief, the type who's always one step ahead. A rogue, a rascal, but a gentleman at heart, often seemingly out of his depth but always with something up his sleeve. A real film hero, a bit like an Indiana Jones perhaps. In the principality of Cagliostro, ruled by a malevolent emperor, and with the help of colleagues, Wolf fights to save an enslaved princess and uncover corruption, and maybe find the treasure.
The best thing about it was how fun it was, it is quite an oddball film with an unusually lighthearted tone. The lovely thing about it is the approach of such abandon and freedon in the story, it is unpredictable and uncontrollable, almost like a madcap comedy masquerading as a mystery (The plot could almost have been from Mel Brooks or the Marx Brothers, albeit with elements of usual Japanese anime fare) The dialogue, music, pacing, simple characters and almost ridiculous plot points all add to this impressive feel.
It is unlike the other Ghiblis I have seen, most of which have dealt with deeply serious mythical themes, but I would be happy for some others I am yet to see to be like this. A corrupt politician addresses a detective; 'The coverage of your so called investigation reads like a comic opera', which seems to be a bit of a meta commentary on the film itself. This was the legendary Hayao Miyazaki's first film, no wonder things took off for him.
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